Taking notes in Jiu-Jitsu

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Taking notes in Jiu-Jitsu

Taking notes in Jiu-Jitsu is something I am a big believer. First of all, I am a believer in the notion that to a large degree, Jiu-Jitsu is a knowledge game. Of course, knowledge is not the whole story. Until KNOWLEDGE is translated into SKILL, it is of little practical value to the BJJ student (though it can still be of great value to the professor or instructor). Like any knowledge based enterprise, there is a lot of memorizing and, unfortunately, a lot of forgetting! As such, I believe it is of great value to many people (not all people, some learn in very different ways) to keep notes on their progress and even of classes. At the end of every day, I always made sure I wrote down in some form the main things I learned that day. I don’t suggest writing vast amounts, but I do recommend writing them in a fashion that you would remember in a year (for example, a triangle…like the final scene of Lethal Weapon). Just write the NEW elements that you believe have potential for the future. I believe that writing things down on a piece of paper or typing them into your phone aids in retention. In addition to helping retention, it helps order your thoughts into more coherent structures that will help you work them into your development. So even if you never peruse those notes again, they still will have helped you. I DEFINITELY recommend this for seminars you attend. Most of the classes you take will be 3-5 techniques. In a seminars, if may be between 15-20, taking notes will definitely aid you to remember everything thought. I remember once coming across an old journal of mine from 2002 and seeing an entry on an “interesting concept that may be of considerable value for further research and wider applicationsâ€. It was the notion of double trouble applied to ashi garami based leg locks that I learned from John Danaher in a private lesson. How ironic that this would go on years later to be of such value to my students. I love going over my old BJJ notes from time to time to see how far I’ve come, how much BJJ has evolved and to go back to remember things I haven’t worked on in awhile. Let the time, orderliness and discipline of note taking work for you, just as you did in school as a kid or in college,  it can help you take the lessons of today into your improvements of tomorrow.

Joint lock submissions in BJJ

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Joint lock submissions in BJJ

When it come to Joint lock submissions in BJJ, don’t be in a hurry to extend the limb. There are two ways to submit an opponent in Jiu-Jitsu, chokes and joint locks. Overall, I believe chokes are the more effective of the two but joint locks are still a truly vital part of the game. You must make a deep study of the skill of attacking the arms and legs of an opponent. Probably the single most common problem I see in developing students who have gotten into a position to joint lock an opponent is an unnecessary rush to completion that sacrifices control and allows an opponent to escape. When it comes to joint locks, control beats speed. There are exceptions to this. There are times when a fast entry and finish can get you a win before an opponent can get into a defensive reaction, but for every time you see this happen you will see twenty cases where too much concern with speed weakens your control and you end up with nothing. Focus on a tight connection to the joint above the joint that you are attacking. If you are attacking the knee for example, get a good connection to the hip. If your attacking the elbow, get a good connection to the shoulder. Don’t be afraid to move with your opponent to maintain that connection. When you feel the connection is strong and you can control your opponents movement, THEN go to attack the joint. Victory will go to the person who exhibits great control more often than the person who exhibits great speed.

BJJ: Are you casual or are you serious?

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BJJ: Are you casual or are you serious?

BJJ: Are you casual or are you serious? One of the first things we ask a new student who wants to become a student here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com) is “are you casual or are you serious?” Casual vs. Serious: It’s important to know what your goals are. Time is an extremely valuable expenditure. Of all the things we can find and make and get, time isn’t one of them. One of my favorite quotes is from Charles Buxton “you will never find the time for anything. If you want time, you must make it” That’s why you have to differentiate between being a casual learner and serious learner. Once you understand this as a choice, all around you you’ll see opportunities to deepen your knowledge and transition from being a vague generalist to an intensive specialist.
Commitment is a powerful amplifier for this process. It can take a weak signal and make it stronger. Like the best moves in jiu-jitsu, commitment is a leverage point which gets your time working harder than it otherwise might. You make an uncommon investment when you put yourself completely behind an effort or an idea and when you’re all in, you get a significant return. Choose to go from casual to serious and make your time worth more. In BJJ, I have found that like everything else in life, the most committed to getting better are the people who make the most progress. If you want to find the time for something, you will. And you will reap the rewards.
A quote about time and the mountains

Managing your emotions in BJJ

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Managing your emotions in BJJ

Today I want to talk about managing your emotions in BJJ. Emotional state management in Jiu-Jitsu and even in life for that matter is a critical skill to develop. It’s something we really focus on at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com). Jiu-Jitsu rewards you when you give attention to “the main thing”. For many of us, not having things go our way can be a frustrating experience that takes us away from that main thing. It can lead to anger or irritation, which then clouds the sort of clear thinking that’s needed for proactive problem-solving. In almost all cases, anger and frustration do not actually help you. In addition, it works in the exact opposite way. Anger of any form will keep you frozen, immobilizing you with no productive outcome. An alternative is to try framing whatever problem you face in a way that assumes there is an answer to be found, even if you can’t see it yet. It may take some time and you may need to recruit others to help you get on this path. But you‘ll get where you’re going faster by emphasizing an active search for creative solutions, rather than letting your frustration paralyze you. Also, here is something else to think about. Your physical heath. Anger can also affect your health in many different ways. An angry outburst can put your heart at risk. It can also weaken your immune system and if you are later in age, possibly lead to a stroke. If you have anxiety, it can make that worse and lead to depression. Studies show that happy people live longer. They also show stress is very tightly linked to general health. If you’re stressed and angry, you’ll shorten your lifespan. These are some more things to consider when it comes to managing your emotions.

Improvement has a cost in BJJ

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Improvement has a cost in BJJ

Improvement has a cost in BJJ. Let be honest, improvement has a cost in almost everything we do, not just BJJ. First of all, it takes time and effort to make something better. It’s also hazardous because trying to make things BETTER might actually make them WORSE. With that hazard comes fear. And if you’re the one who makes a change and things get worse, guess who’s responsible? All of this is why many people won’t willingly try to improve unless there’s an urgent reason to do so. But in order to improve, you have to put in the work. One of my favorites quotes I use here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com) is “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” The best training sparks this desire to change, though, because no matter how long you’ve been doing it, there are always a few things that need fixing. If you surround yourself with those who require more of you, surround yourself with people with like minded goals, or put yourself into those sorts of situations which demand more from you, you face the uncomfortable, difficult necessity to improve. But difficult doesn’t mean HOPELESS. Part of your task is to understand how difficult and even fearful it can be to try to make things better, then to do it anyway. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. That is one of the key lessons to learn in BJJ. One of the best lessons a white in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can learn is to get comfortable being uncomfortable. We preach this our newer and older students. The faster everyone learns this important lesson, the faster everyone’s Jiu-Jitsu will improve ..and at a quicker rate. If you are a whitebelt in Jiu-Jitsu, heed this advice and watch your game improve.

Principles in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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Principles in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Learning the principles in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the foundation of our art. All the best Academies and Jiu-Jitsu teachers everywhere don’t just teach “moves”, they teach principles of the art. With regards to Jiu-Jitsu technique, fashions come and go. What is popular today can be replaced by tomorrow. But underneath that surface, technique lies something permanent, something deep and unchanging whose weight will give your game gravitas, the bedrock of the art, PRINCIPLES. Focus on those and your game will never go out of style. I was lucky to be trained early in my BJJ journey by Professor David Adiv (www.gracienewjersey.com), he didn’t just teach techniques, he taught the principles of Brazilian/Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. The hows and the whys we do everything in our art. How, where and why to use frames in a great example. In a game where control is everything, using frames to prevent an opponent from establishing controlling grips and position is a huge part of your development. The centerpiece of your frames will always be the link between your knees and elbows. The closer your opponent gets to you, the closer your knees and elbows need to be together. We stress this from the beginning of your journey here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com).

The first points of contact in BJJ

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The first points of contact in BJJ

Today, I want to talk about the first points of contact in BJJ….hands and head. Hands and head is something we talk about this a lot at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com). When you first make contact with an opponent, whether it be standing or from seated guard situations, the first points of contact with your opponent will typically be at the hands and forehead. Learning to place them so as to create defensive barriers and then manipulate them to create offensive opportunities is a big part of your opening strategies in Jiu-Jitsu. Always understand that your head and hands have both defensive and offensive value. But that in most cases, it’s tactically smart to take care of your defensive responsibilities before your offensive ones. Your head and hands are both a barrier and a key to your opponents door that can give you access to everything else. Use them wisely from the start of each engagement and you will stop an opponent in his tracks while setting up your own attacks. Learning how to use these 2 in unison will definitely improve your Jiu-Jitsu game. In conclusion, you may not see results right away, it takes time to practice and build this game, but once you start to use this, when you have that “A HA” moment, your BJJ game will take off. Remember your defense will always improve first, offense will come after. Learning the defense to something will always help you learn the offense in the long run. That is something that many BJJ practitioners don’t realize until they reach a colored belt, but it is a lesson everyone, of every rank, will eventually learn on their BJJ journey. Practice this every day and let me know how it works out for you.

Always dictate the pace in BJJ

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Always dictate the pace in BJJ

Always dictate the pace in BJJ, this is something I preach almost every single class here at Savarese Jiu-Jitsu Academy (www.northnjbjj.com). Create a strong initial threat and you will own the next move almost 100% of the time. If you can put your opponent under extreme pressure with a given move, it will elicit such a focus on defense that you will have a considerable tactical advantage in any follow up move. An opponent whose entire attention is bound up defending one move will be very vulnerable to any subsequent move. It is up to you however, to develop the sensitivity to know how to keep the pressure on the first attempt but know inside that it’s unlikely to break through the opponents defense and concoct a good follow up. Attacking in combinations becomes a must the higher up the ranks you go. There are two ways you can fail with this. The first is Tunnel vision that keeps you focused only on that first move when it’s becoming clear that it won’t work. The second is not putting enough pressure on the first move so the opponent is not sufficiently distracted and can thus defend the second move as soon as you attempt it. Learning to balance these two demands is a big part of your development towards a strong offense. And if you constantly are attacking and dictating pace, forcing your opponent to constantly defend your every move, your chances of coming out on top and getting a pass, sweep or dominant position rise greatly and thus your chances of getting a submission from that dominant position increases as well. I cannot stress enough how important dictating the pace of your fight or training session is to eventual victory. Try this and watch the difference.

Legs vs head in BJJ

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Legs vs head in BJJ

Fighting legs vs head in BJJ, specifically your legs vs their head, is one of the best forms of control in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com), one of the basic features of Jiu-Jitsu is the notion of controlling greater strength and aggression with lesser strength and aggression via mechanical and tactical advantage. One of the surest ways to do this is to use the strongest parts of the human body (legs and hips) against the weaker parts (head and shoulders for example). Two excellent examples of this would be the triangle and armlock/armbar, both of which directly match your legs against an opponents head and arm. Whenever possible look for this kind of match up in your favor. if you want to defeat biggest and stronger opponents, then you must seek to fight your opponents upper body with your lower body as much as possible. That is the matchup body-wise that will favor you. If you make it a battle of your upper body against a similarly skilled and bigger opponents upper body it is unlikely you will win. So in conclusion, always make it a fight between your lower body and your opponents upper body and victory will definitely find your door more often than not.

A man sitting on the ground with another man.

Fatigue is the ultimate submission in BJJ

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Fatigue is the ultimate submission in BJJ

Fatigue is the ultimate submission in BJJ. We all have our favorite submission holds, but people who get tired will eventually “break”. The legendary football coach Vince Lombardi had a great quote about this…”Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” In time, I hope you develop at least five to six submissions that you can attack from anywhere on anyone. But never lose sight of a fundamental truth in grappling. The ultimate submission is not a hold per se, it is fatigue. If you can physically and mentally break an opponent with fatigue they will submit with their mind first and then with their second. A big part of your skill set has to be the skill of wearing down and exhausting an opponent so that all the submission holds are easy to apply and which an opponent will gladly surrender to. In the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, this is also called “cooking an opponent as well. There are ways to control and manipulate grips, stance and pace that are heavily in your favor so that an opponent is working at two or three times the rate you are. If you can maintain this, the result is inevitable. An opponent who is looking for an excuse to quit,  your submission hold provides that excuse. When you put hands on an opponent your constant underlying goal should be to create a disparity in work rate skewed in your favor that opens the door to submission later in the match.